An Ingenious Way to Recycle

On a recent trip to Berkeley California I visited Urban Ore, a materials recycling center, of sorts. There are aisles and aisles of toilets, doors, desks, you name it. All were reasonably priced, each just needing a mere coat of new paint. What was junk to previous owners is now a steal for a new owners who bring them home in pickup trucks, or with a roof-rack and tie-down straps. Rather than filling a landfill or burdening a recycling plant, this "junk" is transformed from trash, to useful products. It's a rather simple concept, but brilliant. At its core, the key to making the system work is getting the right kind of "junk" to the right person who needs it. To make it a well-oiled machine, there is one critical paramount: organization.

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The obstacle to reuse is disorganization- not unlike that behind our closet doors. I recently moved apartments, and boy does moving make you realize how much

"garbage" naturally accumulates if you're not proactive in fighting it. Each moving cycle begins with a "junk"-purging phase, followed by the move, and then of course the tendency to collect once again. While you might resist the reality the fact is if you can't find something when you need it or can't even remember that it exists in a corner of your home, it's probably junk. Every gadget, or piece of clothing in our lives has a certain value, but it's only worth that value if we can find it, and use it.

During my recent move, my natural tendencies fought me in the same way they do for many people. As I was trying to get rid of various odds and ends through Craigslist, gifting, or just leaving them on the street for free, I found myself thinking the same thoughts over and over: "Wow, I forgot I even had this! Hmm, I've been getting by fine without it, so I should get rid of it. I could probably get $20 ... but wait, I paid $50! I should just keep it. What if I end up needing it again? I wouldn't want to have to spend another $50."

If you haven't used something in a year and it doesn't have sentimental value consider simplifying your life and getting rid of it, selling it, or giving it to someone who can give it a new home. For more information, recycle almost anything.